Collapsible multi-trip container



Feb. 18, 1958 w. c. GEORGE COLLAPSIBLE MULTI-TRIP CONTAINER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 7, 1955 all iisv klll; 'F

Feb. 18, 1958 w. c. GEORGE Y 2,823,845

COLLAPSIBLE MULTI-TRIP CONTAINER I Filed Nov. 7, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 hwi/r 7a 7 Mu EPA'G G Feb. 18, 1958 w. c. GEORGE 2,823,846

COLLAPSIBLE MULTI-TRIP CONTAINER Filed NOV. 7, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Feb. 18, 1958 w. c. GEORGE 2,823,846

COLLAPSIBLE MULTI-TRIP CONTAINER Fl G18.

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United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE MULTI-TRIP CUNTAINER Walter C. George, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Crown Zellerbach Corporation, San Francisco, Calitl, a corporation of Nevada Application November 7, 1955, Serial No. 545,362

6 Claims. (Cl. 229-43) The invention relates to a rectangular shaped heavy duty multi-trip shipping container preassembled and shipped by the manufacturer to the user in collapsed knocked down form.

In the highly competitive field of bottled beverages, there is an increasing demand for a heavy duty shipping container adapted for multi-trip service which imposes an absolute minimum assembling cost on the loading plants. Heavy duty containers of the class described are usually fabricated from a blank for the side walls, bottom panel and cover panels with separate blanks for the end panels. Such construction, while providing a container for bottled beverages suitable for several return trips, is not collapsible upon fabrication and consequently is shipped by the manufacturer in three separate scored and slotted flat blanks which must be completely assembled or fabricated at the point of use. This requirement is a highly objectionable and expensive operation which the bottling industry is very desirous of eliminating. Among other excess costs, it necessitates duplicating the manufacturers relatively expensive stapling equipment which the manufacturer is in a position to operate far more economically than the user of the containers. Furthermore the single bottom panel of these heavy duty multitrip containers often fail after several return trips, rendering the container Worthless.

A preferred form of the container of the invention comprises a body section having opposed side walls with a bottom panel perforated along the median longitudinal line and separate end Wall panels. Half covers are integral with the upper edges of the side walls and these half covers have flanges on their side and longitudinal meeting edges foldable downwardly in substantially right angular relation thereto. The longitudinal flanges may have a reinforcing extension on their outer edges folded inwardly against the under face of the flanges.

The end panels have reinforcing flaps integral with their upper edges and flaps integral with their bottom edges, the bottom flaps adapted to form an inner bottom panel. The upper marginal reinforcing flaps of the end panels are folded inwardly and downwardly, forming a multi-ply reinforcement to the upper margin of the end panels permanently secured in this position by staples, glue or other suitable means.

The end panels and the body section are then fabricated by folding sealing flaps integral with side edges of the side walls right angularly inwardly flatwise against the side margins of the end panels and permanently securing them thereto by stitches, glue or other suitable means.

This completes the preassembling of the container by the manufacturer and the structure is then readily collapsed to knocked down form for shipment to the user by separating the outer bottom panel along the line of perforations into foldable outer bottom half panels. It is only necessary for the user to open up the collapsed container into rectangular form, seal the opposed pairs of bottom closure flaps to each other, and secure the half cover side and meeting edge flanges together in right angular relation to the cover and to each other.

The container of the present invention thus substan tially eliminates the objectionable problems which the containers of the kind described imposed upon the users.

An object of the invention is to provide a three piece heavy duty inulti-trip container which may be substantially completely prefabricated by the manufacturer and shipped to the user in flat, knocked down form.

Another object is to provide a multi-trip shipping container having a bottom panel separable longitudinally into foldable outer closure flaps, the bottom panel having upstanding side walls integral thereto, and separate end panels with foldable inner bottom forming flaps on their bottom edges, the container being preassembled by the manufacturer and adapted to be shipped in flat, knocked down form to the user by converting the bottom panel into separate outer bottom closure flaps.

Still another object is to provide a 3-piece multi-trip shipping container prefabricated by the manufacturer comprising a pair of opposed side walls with half covers hinged to their upper edges and separate end panels secured to the side walls by flaps integral with the side edges of the side Walls. The half covers have flanges on their meeting and side edges, the end flanges having a reinforcing extension divided by slits in the outer margins into a central portion and counter-part end portions. The central portion of the reinforcing extension is folded flatwise against and secured to the inner face of the flange, the end flanges of the half covers and the counter part end marginal portions of the reinforcing extension being adapted to be folded right angularly downwardly and secured together by a sealing tab interposed between the end flange and the said marginal end portions of the reinforcing extension.

Still another object is to provide a 3-piece collapsible container having split covers hinged to the upper edges of the side walls, the meeting edges of the covers having longitudinal flanges foldable right angularly downward and flanges extending from the outer portion of the side edges of the covers foldable right angularly downwardly and seating in the closed position of the covers in a similarly shaped indentation in the end walls of the con tainer, thus providing a substantially smooth end wall face and preventing the end flanges of the covers from becoming torn by catching on adjacent stacked container.

Another obiect is to provide a method of pre-assembling a heavy duty shipping container formed from scored and slotted body and separate end wall blanks and collapsing the preassembled container for shipment to the user, the process comprising folding the body blank to define a bottom panel with upstanding side walls and assembling the end walls which have integral inner bot tom forming flaps by folding reinforcing flaps on the upper edges thereof inwardly and downwardly thence reversely upward and securing the folded flap to the inner face of the end wall, then attaching the assembled end panels to the side walls by securing sealing flaps pro-- vided on the side edges of the side walls to the vertical side margins of the end walls, completing the preasserhbling of the container into rectangular form, then sever ing the bottom panel longitudinally along a median pen forated score into counter-part outer bottom closure flaps and thereupon collapsing the container into flat form for shipment.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates.

To this end the invention consists in a novel construction, arrangements, and combination of parts herein shown and described, as will be more clearly pointed out in the following specification.

aseasae 3 In the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent'like'or corresponding parts'throughout the views;

Fig. l is a plan view of the blank for forming the body section and the separate blanks for forming the end panels;

Fig. 2 is a'planview illustrating one of the end panels with the upper reinforcing flap partially folded;

Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating the end panel of Fig. 2 with the reinforcing flap folded and secured in final position. 7 v

Fig. 4 is a vertical plan view of the upper portion of the end panel of Fig. 3 taken in the direction of the arrows 4-4;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the body blank of Fig. 1 with the side walls folded right angularly upward from the bottom panel;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the partially erected body blank of Fig. 5 with the assembled end panels secured in right angular relation to'the side walls between inwardly folded sidewall flaps;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the assembled container illustrated in Fig. 6 showing the bottom panel separated longitudinally into outer bottom closure flaps;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the assembled container of Fig. 7 collapsed into fiat form for shipment;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the preassembled container of Fig. 7 showing the inner and outer bottom flaps in process of closing;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the container illustrated in Fig. 9 showing the completed bottom closure and the longitudinal flange and reinforcing strip of one of the split covers and the connecting end tab in process of insertion between the flange and reinforcing extension;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of one of the half cover flanges of Fig. 10 showing the connecting tabs of the side flanges in final position;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a modified form of the flange of a half cover wherein the reinforcing strip is slit adjacent the end margins forming a central portion which is secured to the under face of the flange.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the half cover flange shown in Fig. 12' with the connecting tabs in place and the outer margins of the reinforcing flange folded over the tabs and secured thereto;

Fig. 14 illustrates the body blank C and the inner face of the end wall blanks D of a modified end panel reinforcement construction;

Fig. 15 shows the reverse or outer face of the end wall blank D; 7

Figs. 16, 17, 18 and 19 illustrate the inner face of the end wall blank D in the process of assembly;

Fig. 20 illustrates the outer face of the assembled end panel of Fig. 10 with an indentation for seating the side flanges of the covers in the closed position thereof;

Fig. 21 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the end panels with a half cover and its side and end flanges in final position;

Fig. 22 is a horizontal sectional view of the container shown in Fig. 21 taken in the direction of the arrows 22.

The blanks A and B for fabricating a preferred form of the invention are shown in Fig. l. The bottom panel 50 of the body section is defined by parallel longitudinal scores 51whichscores also define the longitudinal'bottom edges of side walls 53. The bottom panel 50 is perforated longitudinally at 52 along its median width. Longitudinal scores 54, parallel to the scores 51, define the upper edge of the side walls 53 and the hinge line of the half covers 55. Transverse scores 56 define the side edges of the side walls 53 and the hinge line of the sealing flaps 57. The continuation of the transverse scores 56 define the side edges of the half cover panels 55 and the hinge line of the flanges 58 depending from the side edges of the cover panels. Spaced parallel transverse scores 60 and 62 define longitudinal cover flanges 61 and reinforcing strips 63 hinged to the flanges 61. Outward 4 extension of the side cover flanges 58 form tabs 59 for connecting the side and end cover flanges together in right angular relation to the corners and to each other in the assembled position thereof. Transverse slots 64 separate connecting tabs 59 from the ends of the longitudinal flanges 61 and the reinforcing strips 63 connected thereto.

In the drawing, B illustrates the blank for forming each of the end panels. It comprises an end wall 70 defined by longitudinal scores 71 which scores define the inner hinge line of a reinforcing flap 73 and the hinge line of the inner bottom forming flaps 72. The reinforcing flap 73 has a longitudinal score 74 parallel to thescores 71 defining the inner edge of extension 75. The end panel has a handhole 76 in its upper portion and a slot 77 is formed at the mid width of the blank B extending from the upper margin of the end panel 70 across a substantial portion of the inner portion of the reinforcing flap 73. A cutout 79 is formed in the outer extension '75 of the reinforcing flaps 73 which, 'in the folded position of the reinforcement, will fall into alignment with the slot 77.

A convenient method of prefabricating a preferred form of the invention, as described, is to first assembly the end panels B by folding the extension downwardly into flatwise relation to the flap 73 as shown in Fig. 2. The flap 73 is then folded downwardly about the score 71 into parallel relation with the end panel as shown in Fig. 3. be positioned substantially at the upperboundary of the hand hole 76, the extension 75 being interposed between the reinforcing flap 73 andthe inner face of the end wall panel 76. This completes the prefabrication of the end panel.

The body section blank A is assembled by folding the side walls 53 upwardly in right angular relation to the body panel 50 with the cover panels 55 and their depending flanges and the sealing flaps 57 all in substantially the same plane as illustrated in Fig. 5. The end panels 70, preassembled as described and illustrated in Fig. 3,are next permanently attached to the body section by folding the sealing flaps 57 right angularly inwardly and securing them by staples 78 to the side margins of the end panels 70 as illustrated in Fig. 6.

The perforated score 52 in the bottom panel 50 is then severed, forming counter-part outer bottom closure flaps 50 as illustrated in Fig. 7. The inner bottom closure flaps 72 and outer bottom flaps 50 are maintained in substantially the same plane as the element to which they are hinged and the prefabricated container readily collapsed into flat form for shipment to the user as shown in Fig. 8. This completes the preasss embly of a preferred form of the container of the invention by the manufacturer. 7

At the point of use the collapsed structure is opened up into rectangular form as indicated in Fig. 9' and the inner and outer bottom closure flaps 72 and 50 respectively are folded right angularly inwardly and secured to each other by glue or other suitable means. The cover flanges 5 8 and 61 are folded right angularly downwardly and the reinforcing strips 63 are folded inwardly against the under face of the cover flange 61 and secured thereto with the connecting tabs 59 interposed therebetween. These operations are illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11 and complete assembly at the point of use.

Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate a modified form of the strip which reinforces the longitudinal half cover flanges of the container. The modification comprises slitting the reinforcing strip as at 80 into substantially equally distant portions from the endsthereof, forming a major central portion 81 which is secured to the under face of the cover flange 61 by; glue, staples or other-suitable means by the manufacturer. I, g

.A h po nt f s t e eq st b .59 r fo d against the under face of the flange 61 as describedhere- The fold of the flap 73 and extension 75 will.

. inbefore and the outer margins 82 of the reinforcing strip folded downwardly and inwardly and secured flatwise over the connecting strip as shown in Fig. 13. Due to the fact that the paperboard from which the multi-trip containers of the invention are constructed is necessarily difficult to flex or bend, this modification simplifies the gluing operation at the point of use, since the connecting tabs 59 and the outer portions of the reinforcing strips are much more readily folded and secured into the final position, than when the entire length of the strip must be folded and secured to the under face of the cover flange with the connecting tabs interposed therebetween.

Another modification of the end panel and cover flange construction is illustrated in Figs. 14 to 22 inclusive. In this form of the invention, the reinforcing flap 123 has an extension 126 on its outer edge divided by a transverse cut score 125 on the outer or reverse face of the blank D (Fig. 15), and a spaced, perforated score 127 on its inner face (Fig. 14) dividing the extension into an inner portion 126, an intermediate portion 128 and an outer portion 129. A rectangular shaped opening 130 is cut in the portions 126 and 128 of the extension for purposes which will appear hereinafter. A slot 131 is cut across the upper margin of the end panel and the inner portion of the flap 123 and a slot 132 is formed in the outer section 129 which registers with a similar portion of the slot 131 in the assembled position of the reinforcing flap.

The body blank C shown in Fig. 14 is substantially the same as the blank A illustrated in Fig. 1 of the previously described form of the invention and may be assembled as hereinbefore described, the only difference being in the side flaps 108 of the half covers 105 which are considerably shorter than the corresponding flaps 58 of Fig. l

A convenient method of preassembling the end blank of this modified form of the invention, is to fold the outer portion 129 of the extension 123 outwardly and downwardly about the cut score 127 flatwise against the intermediate section 128, as illustrated in Fig. 16. The intermediate and outer portions of the extension are then folded inwardly and downwardly fiatwise against the inner portion of the extension 126 as illustrated in Fig. 17. The inner, intermediate and outer sections are then folded downwardly fiatwise against the flap 123 as illustrated in Fig. 18 and finally the three described folds are folded inwardly against the inner face of the end panel 20 as shown in Fig. 19 and secured in this position by glue, staples or other suitable means. In this finally folded position, the flap 123 provides a relatively rigid multiply reinforcement of paperboard across the upper margin of the end panel above the boundary of the hand holes.

After the folded reinforcing flap has been secured in the position described on the inner face of the end panel, or at any other convenient point in the assembly, a portion of the end panel above the hand hole is indented as at 134, as shown in the Figs. 20, 21 and 22, sufficiently to form a seat for the flanges 16W in the closed position of the covers with the outer faces of the flanges in substantially co-planar relation to the outer face of the end panel. This indentation is made possible by the removal of the material from the opening 13%, cut in the reinforcing flap 123, which opening falls in horizontal alignment with the cover flanges M38 in their closed position as most clearly illustrated in Fig. 22.

Fig. 21 shows the side flanges 103 seated in the indentation 134 in the end panel while Fig. 22 illustrates the 4-p1y construction of the reinforcement above the hand hole and the position of the half cover end flaps 108 with respect to the indentation 134 and the outer face of the end panel 120.

The modified construction of the end panel results in a substantially smooth exterior surface of the end panel and quite effectually eliminates the more or less common objection to the standard construction of the over hanging cover panel side flaps becoming torn and othefwise damaged by contact with adjacent containers or other objects in the course of handling and transportation.

The end panels D assembled as described are integrated with the body section C and the preassembled structure collapsed for shipment in the same manner as hereinbefore described in connection with the blanks A and B of Fig. 1.

It is to be understood that the embodiments herein described are illustrative and not restrictive, and it is also to be understood that the invention may be susceptible of embodiment in other modified forms, and that all such modifications which are similar or equivalent hereto come equally within the scope of the claims next appearing.

What I claim is:

1. A heavy duty double bottom container substantially preassembled by the manufacturer and adapted to be collapsed in fiat form for shipment; the container comprising a pair of separate end walls and a pair of side walls hinged to the side edges of a flat bottom member having a median longitudinal perforated score extending from side edge to side edge defining substantially identical outer bottom closure flap forming portions, each end wall having an inner bottom forming flap hinged to its lower edge, a handhole positioned in its upper margin and a reinforcing flap hinged to its upper end folded inwardly into at least a three-ply reinforcement across the inner face of the end wall above the handhole and secured thereto, the prefabricated end walls being secured in. parallel relation to each other between the ends of the side walls by sealing flaps on the ends of the side walls folded inwardly in flat-wise relation to the outer face of the end walls with the bottom closure flaps thereof extending downwardly in substantially the plane of the end walls, the side walls having half cover flaps with reinforcing flanges on their outer edges extending upwardly in substantially the plane of the side walls, the prefabricated structure being adapted for shipment by severing the perforated score in the bottom member, folding the outer closure flaps thus released downwardly into substantially parallel relation with the side walls and collapsing the structure into fiat form.

2. The heavy duty shipping container set forth and claimed in claim 1 wherein the cover panels have side and end flanges adapted to be folded downwardly in right angular relation to the covers and to each other, a reinforcing strip integral With the outer end of the side cover flanges adapted to be disposed inwardly in flatwise reinforcing relation to the under face of the cover flanges with a connecting tab integral with the side flanges interposed between the end margins of the end flanges and the reinforcing strip.

3. The heavy duty shipping container set forth and claimed in claim 1 wherein a slot is formed in the upper margin of the reinforced end panel at its median width into which the end margins of the end flanges of the half covers and the connecting tabs seat in the closed position of the covers with the side flanges of the half covers overriding the upper outer face of the end panels.

4. The heavy duty shipping container set forth and claimed in claim 1 wherein the end margins of the reinforcing strip of the half covers are slit transversely to form a major intermediate portion folded inwardly and secured to the under face of the end flange prior to collapsing the container for shipment, the end portions of the reinforcing strip being readily adapted to be folded over the half cover flange and secured thereto with the connecting flap interposed therebetween. in the fully assembled position of the container.

5. In a heavy-duty three-piece substantialiy prefabricated collapsible shipping container having a bottom member longitudinally perforated along its width, opposed side walls integral therewith with half covers hinged to their upper edges, the half covers having flanges on the outer portion of their side edges adapted to be secured in downward right angular relation to reinforcing flanges on the end edges of the half covers; aprefabricated end Wall with an upper marginal flap folded to form a r nulti-ply reinforcement positioned and secured across the inner face of the upper margin of the end wall where in at least one of the plies adjacent to the inner face of the upper margin of the end wall is cut away to form a void directly opposite the area of the upper portion of the end wall in contact with the side flanges of the half covers in the closed position thereof, the saidcontact area being indented and the ,side cover flanges seated'in the indentation in substantially the plane of the end wall in the closed position of the cover.

6. The method of prefabricating a shipping container having a unitary body blankan'd separate end wall blanks and collapsing the prefabricated container into flat'form for shipment to the user; the method comprising providing two substantially identical rectangular end wall blanks and a unitary rectangular body blank, each end wall blank having an end'panel with a' handhole in its ing the side walls and their half covers in a substantially right angularly-upwardplanc and while said side walls are maintained in spaced equidistant relation by said bottom member, inserting the prefabricated end walls between the end margins of the side walls and securing them in parallel relation to each other by folding the sealing flaps of the side walls right angularly inwardly flatwise against the outer face of the end walls with the inner bottom forming flaps of the end walls extending downwardly in substantially the plane of the end walls, releasing the outer bottom forming flaps by severing the perforated score of the bottom member and folding the flaps downwardly into substantially the plane of the side walls, forming a substantially prefabricated open-ended tube and collapsing the tube into flat form by folding the structure about opposite corners until the end walls are in substantially flatwise relation to adjacent portions of the side walls and the inner and outer bottom flaps are in upper marginal portion with flaps hinged to its topand fiatWiSe relation each Otherbottom edges, folding the top flap into a multi-ply reinforcement across the inner face of the end panelabove the handhole, the body blank having a bottoin member with 'a median transverse perforated score extending from side edge to side edge defining a pair of connected to gether bottom closure flaps and side walls foldably attached to the side edges of the bottom member, the side walls having half covers foldably attached to their end References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,112,433 Boeye Mar. 29, 1938 2,567,832 Vadner Sept. '11, 1951 2,612,305 Klasing et a1 Sept. 30, 1952 

